Coin controlled vending machine



Oct. 11, 1932. w. D. BARTLETT 1,882,563

` G01N CONTRQLLED VENDEENG MACHINE `Fiyled May 2o, 1932 f 3 sheets-sheet 1 w Si@ i C f/IN m /l l i '/l, f,

Oct. 11, 1932. w. D. BARTLETT 1,882,563

COIN CONTROLLED VENDING MACHINE FiledrMay 20, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 YO h Octfll, 1932. I w, D BARTLETT 4 1,882,563`

COIN CONTROLLED VENDING MACHINE Filed May 20, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 yPatented Oct. ll, 1,932

UNITED sums-PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM n lnnn'rnizrr, or c1Nc1NNATI,-onro com coN'rnoLLEn vENmNG MAGHINE I g 'application mea nay 2o, lesa-ipsum No. 612,614.

In the present invention I provide a coinp ually controlled means to permit positioning of the bucket at a point of vantage above a prize, just as an excavator bucket is ositioned over an object to-be hoisted. ow ever, it is an obj ect of this invention to permit no movement of the excavator mechanism by the operator until a coin is deposited 'in the machine, thereby rendering the device fool proof. Even after the coin is inserted, the.`

operator has only va limitedl interval within which-to control movementv of the mecha- I 'nism for positioning the bucket at a point of supposed advantage over a prize.

A further object ,of thel invention isk to greatly simplify the excavator o rating mechanism, especially in the methodpcf raising and lowering the excavator 'bucket which 'in the'present instance, is performed by cables directly connected to the 'driven parts of-a motor ata pointin proximity to the latter, with a complete-absence. of cable wind-y lasses,"-winding drums, clutches, etc. I have found it conducive to the effective functioning of the machine to carry all of the operating mechanism on the base of the.

latter, away from the zone of operation of 1 the shovel and in a conveniently accessible position. It is therefore a coordinate object of this invention to compactly assemble all the shovel operating mechanism on a part of the base of the machine which is illuminated from the motor circuitto render the mecha- 5 mism accessible and visible at all times.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the present preferred forms thereof, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,

wherein 50 Fig. 1 is a front elevational view ofa vending machine constructed in accordance with the present invention; 'p Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view, taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; 55

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, showing the operating mechanism in top plan;

Fig. 4' is a detail fragmentary sectional view of the connection between the manually 00 'i :operated gear. and cabin shaft control disc;

Fig. 5 is adetail perspective view of the bucket hoisting, lowering and releasing mechanism;

Fig, 6 is a detail perspective yiew of the 05 I coin-controlled motor releasing unit; f

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view, taken on the line 7 7 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows and showing the coin \chute and its associate mechanism vinA Side elevation;

Fig. 8 is a detail. sectional view taken on the line 8-8 kof Fig. 7, looking in the direction. of the arrows;

Fig. 9 is a `detail fragmentary sectional 75' view taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 7, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 10 is a detail vertical sectional view, taken on the line 10-10 of Fig. 7;

Fig. l1 isa diagrammatical view of the 80 circuit used in the present invention;

Fig. 12 isa detail perspective view -of the bucket, showing manner of attaching cables thereto; and Y Fig. 13 is a'modified form of the invention, 85 showing a manually controlled crane operating mechanism.

-The device vof the present invention in- I cludes acase, generally designated 13, which includes a bottom 1.4, with a top and side walls mounted thereon. Portions of the side walls are made of glass 15, or other suitable' transparent'material, in order that the contents of the case will be visiblel for a purpose more fully Ahereinafter set forth.V The case 13 carriesa display shelf or table 16 which carries confection, prizes, etc., 17.

The mechanism comprising the present invention is completely carried by a base 18, which is superimposed on the bottom 14 of the case 13 and is eqipped with an up-standing frame 19. A block 2O is mounted on the base 18 and carries a stub shaft 21 upon which a gear wheel 22 is rotatably mounted, the latter being engaged by a worm screw 23, fixedly carried by a manually operated rod 24, which extends outwardly through the front of the case and is equipped with a, hand Wheel 25. The gear wheel 22 carries a disc 26 which is keyed to a shaft 27, the latter extending upwardly through the top of the frame 19 into engagement with an excavator or digger cabin 28.

The cabin 28 is of conventional design and is detachably engaged to the shaft 27, as indicated at 29. One end of the cabin has a crane 30 pivotally mounted thereon, the free end of the crane havingtwin pulleys 31 mounted therein over which cables 32 are trained. One end of each cable is in engagement with an excavator bucket or shovel 33, which latter, in the present instance, is shown to be of multi-part construction, the parts thereof be` ing hinged together to permit opening and closing of the bucket. One of the cables is engaged with the parts of the bucket to efrse fect an opening movement of the latter when pressure is exerted upon said cable, while the other cable is engaged with the axle of the' bucket to raise the latter without opening theparts thereof. Movement of the disc 26 imparts movement to the cabin 28 in order to correspondingly move the crane 30 and the bucket 33 supported thereby through the medium of said cables.

For the purpose of effecting operation of the bucket I mount on the base 18 suitable mechanism which includes a motor 34, the shaft of which is equipped with a worm gear 35, which engages in mesh with a gear wheel 36 carried by a driven shaft 37. The shaft 37 also carries a worm gear, indicated at 38, which co-meshes with a complemental gear wheel 39, journalled in one end of a bracket 40. The base of the bracket 40 is mounted upon .the base 18 and has the forward end thereof bent upwardly at right angles to provide a supporting standard 41, which supports the driven shaft 37 and likewise is pivetally engaged by one end of each of a pair of arms 42. The arms 42 are intermediately engaged by hingedly connected links 43, which are pivotal'ly mounted upon the ends of the axle which supports the gear 39. The free ends of the arms 42 are engaged, as shown to advantage in Fig. 2, with the cables 32. It is now apparent that when the motor is operated, motion is imparted to the driven shaft 37, which in turn transmit-s an up and down movement to the arms 42,through the links 43. Then one of the arms is in its lower-most position, the parts of the bucket 33 are opened, but just as soon as movement in the opposite direction of said arm is initiated, the bucket gravitates into a closed position, in order that the opposite arm vin its descendinfT movement, will, by the exertion of pressure on its cable, cause the bucketto be hoisted.

lVhile the disc 2G is loosely mounted on the gear 22, it is nevertheless apparent that the frictional engagement between said disc and gear wheel, especially under pressure of the cabin 28, will be sutlicient to eifect simultaneous operation of both ,of these elements upon rotation of the rod 24. However, it is desired to prevent this simultaneous movement., which of course, correspondingly swings the bucket 33 around the shaft 27 as an axis, until a coin has been deposited` in the machine. 1 therefore mount on the base 18 a coin chute 44, which is disposed at an inclination and terminates at its lower end in a channel, generally designated 45, the outlet end of which is only of sullicient width to permit the passage of a nickel therethrough. Lateral displacement of the nickel through the wider end of the channel is prevented by a resilient linger 4G, which is mounted on the chute and has its free end projected inwardly in the channel. As shown diagrammatically in F ig. 11 of the drawings, both sides of the channel 45 are ineluded in the motor circuit, designated 47,

the circuit wires being engaged with the opposite sides of the channel in order that the coin passing therethrough will bridge the gap between the said opposite sides of the channel and thereby close the circuit. The

motor circuit additionally includes a Contact.

plate 48, which is pivotally mounted upon the block 20 and an adjustable contact pin 49 also carried by the block 20. The motor circuit is connected to a suitable source of energy, indicated at 50, and is adapted to include two or more plug sockets 51 mounted at convenient points on the base 18. lfVhen a coin passes into the channel 45, it bridges the gap. in proximity to the lower end of the channel for closing the motor circuit, thereby causing the motor to run for a short period of time, the duration of which is controlled by mechanism hereinafter described. The disc 26 is then permitted to be operated in unison with the gear wheel 22. At this point it is apparent that the circuitbetween the plate'48 and'pin 49 is broken and is not closed until after the disc 25 has been rotated to release an abutment 52`carried thereby, from contact with the plate 48, permitthe articles 17 on the shelf 16. 1 Rotation of ting the latter'ito iex into engagement with the pin 49.

To permit rotation of the disc 26 when the circuit is closed by the coin, I provide, on the base 18, a suitable unit 53, which includes rods, one of which has one end thereof bent at right angles to provide an attaching arm 54, to which I engage one end of a metal strap 55, the opposite end of the latter being engaged with the disc 26. When the circuit through the coin channel is closed, movement of the disc 26 is permitted to correspondingly rotate the shaft 27 and thereby position the bucket at any desired point above the shaft 27 is at this time effected by turning the hand wheel to give the operator a limited period of time for optional positioning of the bucket over the articles 17. The duration of this period is limited by the strokes of the arms 42, since as already stated, when one of said arms moves into its lowermostposition, the parts ofthe bucket are permitted to open and by the time it is urged into its other extreme position, the bucket has been elevatedby the other arm and at this point, the coin has been released lby suitable mechanism hereinafter described. To automatically effect release of the coin after it has been used to close the Circuit in the manner already described, I preferably make one side of the channel of the coin chute in two parts, the lower of which I designate 45 and the upper of which I designate 452,. The part 45 is hinged on one of the uprights which supports the chute on the base 18 and the upper end thereof is normally urged inwardly by a spring 56. Said upper end bears against the lower end of the i part'452 to normally urge said lower end of the upper part inwardly, which movement is limited by a stop 57. uflicient pressure is in this way exerted by the springl 56 to cause the coin to be held before 'gravitating to the lower end of the chute channel, as shown to advantage in Fig. 8. A suitable automatic release means for the coin is provided through the medium of a bar 58 pivotally mounted upon the base 18, one end of which is engaged to one end of a cable 59, the opposite end of said cable being engaged with the art 452 of the channel 45. The end of'the ar with which the cable 59 is engaged is normally urged in a. direction away from the channel 45 by a spring 60, which i's anchored on the base 18.

It now becomes apparent that as soon as the coin circuit is closed, a pin 43', which projects laterally from one pair of the linksv 43, will contact with a block 61 and ride over the bevel face 61 thereof. During this cycle of operation, optional ositioning of the bucket over the articles 1i) is permitted by turning the -hand wheel 25. When the pin 43 clears the top of the block 61, freedom` of movement of the unit 53 is permitted in order Athat the disc 26, moving in a clockwise direction and exerting a pull on the metal strap 55, will correspondingly'operate the unit 53 in a direction away from'the motor 34. On the return stroke of the links 43 which carry the pin 43', the block 61 'is intercepted to urge the unit engaging end of the bar 58 in the direction of the motor to release tension on the cable 59, permitting the coin. to gravitate through the bottom of the channel. y At the same time, operation of the disc 26 is effected by the pull exerted on the metal strap .vhen the unit 53 is urged in the direction of the motor.l`

I also provide in the case a suitable articledelivery chute 64, the receiving end of which i is at one end of" the case and the dispensing end of which opens at the front of the case.

Preferably I include in the motor circuit 47 a lamp 47 which is mounted upon the base 18 for the purpose of illuminating the case.

In Fig. 12 I provide mechanical means for raising and lowering the crane 30, which consists of a lever 65 pivotally mounted on one side of the frame 19 and in engagement with one end of a cord 66, the latter being trained through an eye 67 on the shaft 27 and having its opposite end engaged with the crane. The operator may move the lever 65 in a vertical arc in vorder to correspondingly move the crane 30, thereby mechanically raising or lowering the bucket 33 for more advantageous positioning of the same over an article carried by the shelf 16.

It is manifest from a consideration of the motor circuit shown diagrammatically in Fig, 11, that the lamp 47 is illuminated when either one of the sockets 51 is plugged in. Moreover, although the hand wheel 25 may be'rotated to correspondingly rotate the gear wheel 22, motion will not be imparted to the shaft 27 until the coin has been deposited in the `chute 44 and the circuitclosed through the sides of the channel thereof, in the manner already herein described. IVhen thisaction takes place, movement .of the hand wheel 25 then rotates the shaft tocorrespondingly turn the bucket 33 to the desired position over the shelf 16 and further movement is effected by the motor operated arms 42, as

engaged with the digging and hoisting mech- What is claimed is l.. A vending machine in combination with a'motor operated digging Iand hoisting mechanism, an electric circuit including said motor, a coin chute associated with said mechanismand embodying a switch in said circuit operable to close the latter when a coin is deposited in the chute, and manually controlled meansin connection with the digging and hoisting mechanism to permit optional positioning of the latter only after the circuit has been closed by the coin.

2. A vending machine, as set out in claim 1, and mechanism also in the motor circuit and in operative connection with the digging and hoisting mechanism to actuate the latter independent of the manually controlled means at the expiration of a predetermined interval afterthe closing of the circuit.

3. A vending machine including a base tion.

WILLIAM D. BARTLETT.

equipped with an upstanding rotatably mounted shaft, a cabin fixed on the top of said shaft with a crane hingedly mounted thereon, cables trained through said crane,

one end of each of which passes through the V cabin and terminates adjacent said base, a shovel carried by the opposite ends of the cables, and a motor mounted on said base and operatively connected to said shaft and the free terminals of the cables.

4. In combination with a vending machine embodying a -base supporting a motor-operatedV l'digging and hoisting mechanism which includes a4 crane with a pair of cables trained therethrough, one end of each of, which engages the digging part of said mechanism, and arms mounted on the base and operatively connected with the motor, each of saidl armsbeing engaged with one of the cables, and movable by the motor through a vertical arcto exert a stress on its cable as thegarm moves-to the base ofthe arc.

f A vending machine including a base,

digging andhoisting mechanism carried by the base, means mounted on said base and anism tof-raise and lower ,thedigger of the latter, a. motor mounted on said base and in operative,cormection With the dlgging and hoisting mechanism to raise and lower the same, 'an electric circuit including said motor and digging and hoisting mechanism, a normally open switch in said circuit, and manuallyv operated means on the base and engaged with said mechanism for moving the latter in a horizontal arc only when the circuit'switch is closed. A vendingmachine including a base equipped with digging and hoisting mechanism, manually operated means rotatably k'mounted on thebaseand in operative connction with said mechanism to urge the latter into a predetermined position lprel paratoryto bcginning'the digging operation,

`a disc mounted on said means and movable 

